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SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME: Their stories

Page 2

Received 8-11-2004

SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME-Diagnostic Protocol

As a mother who went through the agony of temporarily loosing custody of my infant son, and nearly loosing custody of him forever, because it was wrongly claimed, he had been shaken, I understand how other similarly charged parents’ feel and suffer. I am therefore morally obliged to do whatever is possible to prevent this happening to other parents and carers unnecessarily.

In Australia, health workers, and others, are legally compelled to notify authorities, such as The Department of Youth and Community Services and the police, when there is evidence or suspicion of abuse – and this includes what has become known as ‘shaking’.

Unfortunately, few individuals understand the complexity of the issues involved. Often, from the beginning, a decision is made that the ‘cause’ of the problem is ‘shaking’, and there is no need to proceed through what should be the routine of what is known as a ‘differential diagnosis’. This involves a consideration of all possible causes, the collection of evidence and the performance of an array of special medical investigations.

Unfortunately this procedure is rarely followed. Worse still, as recent cases demonstrate, prosecuting witnesses sometimes deliberately withhold information, invent information, become extremely careless, break many of the rules relating to the collection and interpretation of evidence – and escape relatively unharmed when one compares their fate with the sufferings of those falsely, or wrongly, accused and charged.

In medical journals throughout the world the vastness of information that is pertinent to the pathologies found in so-called ‘shaken babies’ is impressive. This should be collected, carefully considered, and made ‘compulsory reading’ for all those involved in the investigation of cases. I have no doubt that, if this is done, justice will be served, and we will emerge from one of the darkest pages in the history of medicine into a better understanding of the nature of infant illnesses.

To begin, I suggest that the following investigations be considered:

· Case history - including family history, pregnancy, labour, birth, and continue to the time of collapse, recovery or death.

· The number of medical consultations, including those with nurses and specialists.

· Reasons for these consultations.

· Feeding, and gastrointestinal problems, including diarrhea

· Antibiotics administered and reasons for why

· All medications administered, Reasons why. Were there side effects or potential side effects? Were parents properly counselled about this?

· All medications administered and reasons why. Was counselling about side effects provided to the parents?

· Vaccine history including batch numbers in case some were known to be ‘hot’ batches. That is known to have produced excessive side effects.

· Eardrums. Inspect on admission, and daily. If an infant dies both middle ears should be inspected during the autopsy and swabs taken to enable tests for bacteria and viruses. At the same time, if excessive fluid is present some should be collected and tested for endotoxin levels

· Perform and record electroencephalogram, electrocardiogram, CT scan, MRI, brain ultrasound, Ophthalmic investigations, including retina, Retcam (retinal photographs), head circumference (repeat daily", pupil size, record and repeat as necessary.

· Neurological observations.

· Skeletal survey – if possible.

· Endotoxin levels in blood, and, if prudent, in the CSF.

· Look for ‘’toxic’ strains of gut bacteria. These produce excessive amounts of endotoxin. If an autopsy is performed light and electron microscope studied may reveal the presence of toxic strains and the damage done to the gut.

· Look for abnormal gut viruses

· Genetic testing of patient, parents, and siblings.

· When ‘fractures’. exist, light and electron microscope studies of bones, including epiphyseal and fracture areas. This is recommended because, sometimes, fractures can be due to bone disorders related to the effects of endotoxin and an increased utilization of Vitamin C.

· Extensive coagulation/bleeding profiles, including (despite some difficulties) platelet functions, capillary fragility, and bleeding time.

· Blood levels of Vitamin C and histamine

· Von Willebrand factor

· Factor x111

· Vitamin K levels.

· D-dimer levels – to the end-point.

· Liver and kidney functions

· Bruise should be carefully examined, during life and autopsies – despite known difficulties. This includes (during autopsies, cutting into the areas, and light and electron microscope examinations.

· Glutaric acid levels.

Some of these tests are expensive and laboratories will need to establish the necessary facilities. The alternative is to jail some innocent individuals for long periods and destroy their families.

If the doctors involved in the investigation of cases do not agree to do these tests, and satisfactory reasons for such actions are not produced, charges of negligence should be set in motion.

Parents claiming to be innocent should be entitled to know why these tests are not being done. During the 2001 International Conference on the Shaken Baby Syndrome, in Sydney, I asked Dr Ryan, who often gave evidence as an expert for the prosecution, why extensive tests were not done and he answered, in a packed lecture theatre, ‘Its too expensive’. My response was, ‘Then why are the parents and family not offered the opportunity to have these tests performed at their own costs?’ There was no answer.

Clearly, if parents and carers are innocent, and doctors and authorities claim that the cause of the pathologies is ‘shaking’, the only option available is to demand that tests be done. Furthermore, if tests are not done quickly, at the time of admission, as time goes by the presence of some causes may be absent or masked.

Despite the fact that retinal haemorrhages alone are not necessarily diagnostic of ‘shaking’, experts have been allowed to offer the opposite opinion without demonstrating that all other possible causes have been eliminated. This is medical and legal lunacy. The claim that certain ‘types’ of retinal haemorrhages are diagnostic is also a falsehood.

 A personal nightmare

I was 5 months pregnant with my son, Codey, when our daughter developed diabetes.

At the 6 months stage I was found to have borderline gestational diabetes, and iron deficiency.

Codey’s birth-date, after an induction, was on February 28, 2000. He was artificially fed, and then quickly developed gut problems. His paediatrician found it necessary to change the formula 3 times in the first 2 months.

Progress was not normal.

May 5, 2000, developed cold/flu

May 8, 2000, vaccinations – DPT, Polio, and HIB

Mid May 2000, Nasal congestion, trouble breathing – chest checked.

Early June 2000, Bronchiolitis and productive cough.

Mid June 2000, Bronchiolitis, fever, productive cough. Antibiotics administered

June 21, 2000, Back to GP, a level of distress, concern about cry –query pneumonia, inflamed eardrums.

June 21, 2000, attends paediatrician. No improvement on antibiotics. Chest X-ray, otitis media. For check with GP in 6 days.

Deteriorates, extremely high temperature, crying, and severe coughing.

June 26,2000, Grand mal seizure. Admitted to hospital.

1st admission

High temperature on arrival of ambulance.

Blood taken for tests on day of admission. These showed a leucocytosis, reactive thrombocytosis, high platelet count, high white cell count, and high glucose level.

Intravenous drip. Antibiotics administered intravenously.

Panadol and painstop administered frequently, alternatively.

Discharged June 30, 2000 – on augmentum for 8 days. Panadol and painstop continued.

Between June 30 and July 11, continues to have fevers, crying, back arching, little improvement. Antibiotics, panadol and painstop continued.

June 11, 2000, taken to GP. Given the ‘4 month’ DPT/polio and HIB, DPT/polio and HIB boosters

High temperature followed, arched back, crying. Panadol and painstop prescribed by paediatrician.

July 12, second admission. Another seizure.

Hospital records show ‘Post vaccination febrile convulsion’.

Managed with pulmonary resuscitation, and high flow oxygen.

Likely cause for seizure was said to be fever - post vaccination.

At this point Codey was not weighed. An overdose of antibiotics was administered intravenously. Next morning the consulting physician stopped this medication.

24 hours after admission Codey was diagnosed as a ‘shaken baby’.

Immediately, all tests were stopped. The authorities were called in, and we began a roller coaster ride that threatened to destroy our family.

 Codey was removed to unknown foster care. – A day we will never forget!

August 4, similar presentation to that of July 12. Foster carer could not be located. Codey was hungry, and no formulae was available. Codey had a rash on his back, was unsettled, crying, and had loose, green and offensive stools.. A list of what was not done is as follows:

No blood tests

No liver tests

No ECG

No EEG

No MRI No CT scan

No brain ultrasound

No eye examination

No measurement of head circumference

No neurological monitoring

No pupil scale record

No skeletal survey

No intensive coagulation/bleeding studies.

13 months of court battles followed. Legal fees were $150,000. The effort involved was huge. It was as if we spent 25 hours a day and 8 days every week researching the literature so that we would at least understand what was going on in Codey’s little body. What we found was certainly not pretty. It was, in reality, a nightmare of unbelievable proportions. The cause of what happpened? It was not something that we had done. It was not something that that was unknown. It was ‘the system’ that indoctrinated doctors, and others, in a way that closed all the doors to understanding and fed poison into the minds of those who were supposed, because of their special skills and training, to know better.

We know that Codey was never shaken.

We know that statements like, ‘Codey was a previously well baby’, were ludicrous to the extreme.

We know that only standard coagulation/bleeding profiles were done at admission, and never repeated.

We have reasons to believe that medical negligence contributed to the pathologies.

We know that the diagnosing paediatrician (who provided the evidence that was relied on for the diagnosis of ‘shaking’) later admitted that he should have carried out extensive coagulation tests, inclusive of testing for Factor X111 abnormalities.

The Department of Youth and Community blamed the hospital for errors. The hospital blamed that department.

Codey is now home and reunited with our family unit. He is safe, well, and has never been vaccinated again or prescribed antibiotics.

Our family believes in, and praises, the immunization schedule. However, we also believe that, for some children, immunizations can cause a number of side effects, (as stated in the TGA records), specifically when combined with other toxins and illnesses.

We also know that, today, as I write, sadly, there are innocent Australian families currently caught in the system and while in the system (ie, the Children’s Court) no-one can, and will, assist or intervene – even though those charged are innocent. The cry of HELP falls on deaf ears. There is no support, nowhere to turn! Hundreds of thousands of tax payer’s dollars, could be saved if SBS diagnosing physicians took greater care. I know. I have been there!

A few weeks ago in England, news- papers headlined, ‘Scotland Yard changes tact over suspicious baby deaths’ (Sandra Laville, Wednesday July 14, 2004, The Guardian). I was delighted to read this, and learn that UK authorities are progressing towards the reversal of unlawful convictions for what was stated to be the ultimate crime – shaking a baby to death.

Wrongly accused mother like Angela Canning’s, Sally Clark and Trupti Patel, have, at last, through the efforts of a handful of dedicated individuals, been freed, physically and mentally, from terrible accusations.

The English authorities have stated, in response to criticism, that they now intend to ‘get it absolutely right, and that these investigations are something which need expertise and particular skills’. I quite agree!

 I believe that it is possible to shake a baby to death. I also know that, often, there are causes for the pathologies that have nothing to do with inflicted trauma.

 Bottom line

If authorities do not agree with what I have stated, particularly because there is a huge amount of supporting literature, they could be, and should be, regarded as being negligent. If they refuse to perform adequate tests, not pay adequate attention to case histories, and simply farm out the problem to individuals or organizations that are not properly qualified to handle the issues, they should be compelled to provide reasons for such actions – or face legal actions. They should not be allowed to wash their hands and walk away.

 References:

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2. Vanderlinden RG, Chisholm LD Vitreous hemorrhages and sudden increased intracranial pressure. J Neurosurg. 1974 Aug;41(2):167-76

3. Tomasi LG, Rosman NP Purtscher retinopathy in the battered child syndrome Am J Dis Child. 1975 Nov;129(11):1335-7

4. Pollack JS, Tychsen L Prevalence of retinal hemorrhages in infants after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Am J Ophthalmol. 1996 Mar;121(3):297-303

5. Goetting MG, Sowa B Retinal hemorrhage after cardiopulmonary resuscitation in children: an etiologic reevaluation. Pediatrics 85(4):585-588, April 1990

6. Weedn VW, Mansour AM, Nichols MM Retinal hemorrhage in an infant after cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 1990 Mar;11(1):79-82

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14. Gutman FA Evaluation of a patient with central retinal vein occlusion Ophthalmology. 1983 May;90(5):481-3

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17. Fledelius HC. Unilateral papilloedema after hepatitis B vaccination in a migraine patient. A case report including forensic aspects. Acta Ophthalmol Scand. 1999 Dec;77(6):722-4

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26. J. F. Geddes, J Plunkett. The evidence base for shaken baby syndrome. We need to question the diagnostic criteria BMJ 2004;328:719-720 (27 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7442.719

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Sent to me June 3-2004

My now 21 year old son was indicted for SBS and because of us not having the funds to help him prove his innocense is now serving time at Manning Correctional.

I being his parent and the grandparent of my precious grandson need to prove his innocence to be able to continue my life. I feel as if I have let this child down

--mama will always protect you and I didn't.

My son and his wife had everything, a new son, a new home, new vehicles and a life  that looked so wonderful. Both of them employed gave me the wonderful opportunity  to babysit Zack every day. They were young, both of them 18 years old,and had more than a lot of 40 year old couples.

Zack had his 6 month vaccinations on May 13th.  I told my daughter-in-law that Zack's  head looked as if one side were swollen or at the time I thought it was the little bouncie seat they put him in often misshaping his head and left it at that because she also has a mother (one who would not let her be the mother - kept interferring with her while she was caring for Zack- one who often remarked about wishing she could have another baby and couldn't). Zack was taken to the doctor for cough and a rash. He was given hydrocortizone cream for the rash and antibiotic for the cough.

The day before their lives crumbled I stated my concerns about Zack's eye's being awfully dark underneath and him being fussy about eating. This is an infant that was never fussy and always eating.

The next day my son had a late arrival time for work so he was going to keep Zack and have me pick him up at about 11:00 a.m. after taking my other children to school (also a late arrival time that day). So my daughter-in-law left for work at approximately 8:30 a.m. about 9:15 a.m.(being a new grandma) I called my son to see how things were going (or do I need to come on and get Zack) and he said everything was great that he still wasn't eating regular but he had just ate and was laying in his bouncie seat watching cartoons and daddy play on the internet, so I said okay I'd see him about 11:00 a.m. At 10:15 a.m. I received a call from my daughter-in-law that my son was at the hospital with Zack. I rushed over to find my son totally distraught, he said Zack fell asleep so he placed him in his crib and went back to his game,  in approximately 15 minutes went to look in on Zack only to find him not breathing gurgling mucus and milk and non-responsive.

Growing up in a daycare my son was fully trained in CPR so he immediately wiped Zack's mouth and began CPR to no avail so he placed him in his seat put him in his truck and tapping Zack's chest gently on the way to the ER got a breath,he made the decision to take him instead of calling 911 was because he lived within lessthan a 3 to 5 minute drive. Only to end up being accused of inflicting great bodily harm (SBS) and now serving time. At first the DSS held any persons being around Zack within the last 72 hours a possible to doing this then it went to 48 hours then 24 hours and then when it was revealed that my son was alone with Zack they and the physician decided it had to be within the past hour.

This physician has been a close friend and physician for the other grandmother for over 20 years. Since the other grandparents had not been around him within the past 72 hours we all agreed that a safety plan placing Zack with them would be better than foster care when he was released. We at this time still did not know accusations of SBS were being sought, but the other grandparents knew it all.

They pushed my son being convicted to the point of turning their own child against them because she believed in her husband and was conversing with DSS the whole time about custody being given to them. Well my son and his wife were ripped apart by this because the only visitation was given to my daughter-in-law under supervision of her parents but was never supervised - just used that as an excuse to have her move back home to be with Zack all the time and tried to persuade her to not stand behind her husband or they would seek full custody.

The DSS also were telling her if she testified or even showed up at his hearings they would have to be entitled to help her parents seek full custody. These children were petrified and didn't know what to do but my son told his wife to go to Zack that he understood. She still would go to his hearings but never would speak.

After 2 years of a life of not seeing his son because they heehawed every way you can imagine to keep Zack from his supervised visits with my son and having his wife whenever she could sneak to see him and let him know about his son, he gave up and decided that since his public defender told him he might as well plead guilty and get it over with, the judge denied his monies for an expert witness, and they had the one and only doctor (the family friend) testifying finally gave up. He was also told if he was convicted or plead that when he went to jail that his wife would regain full custody and could move back to their home with Zack.

He plead guilty and was sentenced to 7 years in jail no parole-100% serve. This is a child that has never been in any trouble, loved by all, biggest heart in the world (gave my doberman mouth-to-mouth to save him) was on top of the world with his new son, never away from his family at all his entire life- always a phone call away-not to mention within a couple of miles. Now he is in a place for wrong doers not children falsely accused. Zack had the subdural hemotoma and retinal hemorrhaging only. No neck injury, no bruising, no fractured anything.

They tried to say it was due to babies not bruising easily but Zack bruised from the oxygen mask in the ER. I am at my wits end almost to the point of losing my mind literally because I feel that I should have been able to protect him and didn't!!

Money rules the world and I don't have no big lump sum to hire the lawyer to help but my husband and I work very hard every day and are ready to pay the rest of our lives and then some for help and don't have the slightest idea of where to turn. We called his public defender to discuss an appeal and she in her own way said no, not unless we brought her the expert witness to rebut theirs. What do we do and where do we go?

My son deserves the right to have someone on his side that can help and he deserves the right to continue his storybook life he was ripped from. We also as grandparents have been given any and every excuse as to why we couldn't see Zack at our scheduled visitation to the point of we no longer get to see him. My first born son and my first born grandchild need me and I don't know where to begin.

Please if you can be of any help I would be indebted to you forever and nothing is too much not even my life to accomplish this. My daughter-in-law needless to say is still having to live with her parents to be with Zack and she has not been accused or convicted of anything. Now her parents are trying to fight her for full custody. This girl is working 2 jobs to maintain her home and also having to give to her parents. It is so WRONG!!!

If you can help in any way please contact sweetpea299129@aol.com


Emailed to me May 25-2004

Our son's story WAS THIS SHAKEN BABY OR MEDICAL MALPRACTICE YOU DECIDE!!!!! He now is serving 15 years in a Florida Prison, the real offenders continue to practice medicine and continue to do sloppy investigations. Brian Herlihy was convicted of causing the death of Baby Robert, an infant in his care, by violently shaking the child. None of the physicians who testified as experts for the state reviewed the baby's prenatal and postnatal medical records to learn about his pre-existing health problems, his treatment with corticosteroid, or his adverse reactions to vaccines. Some of these physicians were aware that Baby Robert suffered from chronic health conditions such as a chronic subdural bleed, brain atrophy, and sinus and ear infections. However, they did not make any attempt to investigate the links between the baby's chronic illnesses and his respiratory arrest on the morning of August 2, 2000. The evidence also shows that Brian was convicted and imprisoned due to sloppy and incomplete medical Investigations. Here is his story throughout our country and across our shores there seems to be an increase in the persecution of innocent people. There has been a flood of cases involving something called "Shaken Baby Syndrome. Sadly, there are cases where children are violently abused for no reason and sometimes die as a result. However, even more tragic is the rising numbers of cases where doctors "jump the gun" and set in motion events that are irrevocable. This leads to police wrongful charging, arresting, and convicting innocent people for a crime that never occurred. It has been quite a struggle for me to be able to put what is in my heart and in my head on paper. It has been over 3 years since my nightmare began for family as well as my friends and me. This has cost me a lot. A lot of friends, many opportunities, and freedom. This is because of my persecution for something I did not do. This is my story of little Robbie and I and events in our nightmare. I first met Robbie in July of 2000. He was a happy little boy and we first "met" when his mom asked me to feed him while she shopped. I grabbed his bottle, held him in my arms, and watched his bottle quickly empty. Afterwards I burped him and he spit up down the back of my shirt. His mom kept apologizing and attempted to clean it up. It did not bother me. I asked if he spit up like that a lot and she said "yes." I enjoyed that time with Robbie. It gave me a sense of peace. There was not a better feeling than that. That first day with Robbie will always be with me.
After that day, Robbie's mom asked me if I would mind watching him a few hours a day from time to time. I worked at night; school was out, I figured why not? Robbie and I had fun! From bath time to nap time. It was not work, it was fun time! Robbie and I went places and he was a joy to take care of. The only time I regretted was when he was not there. Robbie and I had our own "language." If he was happy, and he sure was, he would "GOO." If he was unhappy, he would cry and make a sound like a "gee." I am proud to say he was never unhappy. The day of August 2, 2000 turned all of that upside down. Robbie and his mom showed up while I was attempting to "dip" my puppies. I heard Robbie crying, which was unusual. He was still in the car and it was loud. While his mom brought him in, he was still crying. She held him out and said, "Take him." I told her what I had been doing and that I needed to wash my hands first. When I came back, I held him and tried to soothe him. I remember asking him, "What's wrong with my little buddy?" He was sweating pretty badly. The one-piece jumper he had on had spit up on it and was wet. I took his clothing off and noticed red splotches on his body. I asked his mother what she thought it was. She said, "Heat rash, he gets it a lot." After a diaper change and a wipe down with baby wipes, he seemed a little better. He had stopped crying. His mom said she would feed him while I finished up with the puppies outside. When I finished, I went back inside and Robbie's mom was in my living room. She wanted my keys so she could fill up my truck so we could go on a day trip to Cedar Key. As she left, her instructions were for me to shower and be ready to leave when she returned. When I asked about Robbie, she said, "Robbie will be fine, now go." I went to my bathroom and turned on the water, realizing I had no hot water. I turned it off and used the bathroom. Then I came out and saw Robbie. When I had Robbie in my care I would place him in the center of the bed, surrounded by pillows and I would not leave him alone Today, his mother told me to take my shower, and when I asked what about Robbie, she said "Robbie will be fine" He was not "fine" when I found him. All I could see was his little feet sticking out and pointing up. He had been wedged between the mattress and footboard. When I went to pull him out I saw formula coming out of his nose and mouth. He was not crying and his eyes were barely open. I said, "Robbie, are you okay?" His body went limp and he made a terrible sound. I gave him two quick "puffs" when I saw he was not breathing. I checked for his pulse and ran to get my phone to call 911. 911 stayed on the line with me while help was on the way. I remember saying "Baby! Please don't die!" It was the most horrible thing in my life. I continued to help Robbie breathe until the medics arrived. I was pulled from the room while they worked on him. I broke down and was very upset. What had happened? I did not know. After several more minutes, more rescue personnel showed up. One of them sat me down and tried to calm me down. It was not working. All I wanted to know was how Robbie was doing and what was going on. His mom showed up after a while and I told her what I knew. I was more upset than she was. I told her I felt I let Robbie and her down because I could not help him. I tried to help; it just did not seem to matter. As they were leaving with Robbie they told me, he was breathing on his own and was awake. We followed the ambulance to the hospital, which was less than a mile away. When we got there, we spoke to the doctors and finally we were allowed to see him. I will never forget when I placed my finger on his little hand. He gripped it and looked right at me. My heart was breaking. The doctor said it was a seizure and that Robbie would be fine. Sadly, it was not true. When the police arrived the first time, they were sympathetic to our situation. They had u!
nderstood this was an accident and offered their help. If they were not doctors, then how could they help? Only after Robbie's CT scans and Robbie's own mother giving five separate stories did suspicions arise. What was odd was they were listening to someone who was not even there! Only later did I realize her 10-minute errand lasted for r 45 minutes. Then the police would not let me go anywhere until the detectives came back. These same people had offered their help less than an hour ago. Now they were looking at me as a suspect and I was speechless at what was going on. I was interrogated and threatened over the course of four hours. They had searched my place and car. Why? I was not hiding anything. There had been a promise to keep me updated on Robbie's condition, and that was not honored. After all of this I was finally allowed to go home but not allowed to go to the hospital. The next evening I was arrested at gunpoint and charged with aggravated child abuse. On August 10, 2000 Robbie died at 12:52 in the morning. I was then charged with felony murder. I was indicted on August 29, 2000 for first-degree murder. I did not know many things about Robbie; much less his mother. I know them now and am still amazed at how this all has happened. Since this all happened, there are just a few things that have been discovered: Robbie was 4-5 weeks premature and was a breach delivery. He also suffered a broken clavicle at birth. His mother had been in two separate car accidents that resulted in hospitalization while pregnant with Robbie. The second accident caused her to go into pre-term labor and was stopped. She had been instructed to stay on bed rest the rest of her pregnancy by her doctor. However, she went back to work against medical advice. Robbie's lungs were very immature at birth and he was exposed to steroids to promote this growth.
At Robbie's 3-month "healthy baby" check-up, it is noted that his neck muscles were underdeveloped. No one but his mother knew about this. Not even Robbie's father or other family members. On May 9, 2000 Robbie received the following vaccines:
DTAP: by SKB Lot Number 918A2 (now a HOT LOT), IVP by Connaught RO668 (now a HOT LOT). Hep B by SKB Lot Number 3198A2 (now a HOT LOT), HIB by Connaught UA510AA (now a HOT LOT) Robbie received the following vaccines on 7/19/2000. DTAP by SKB Lot Number 95682 (now a HOT Lot), OPV Connaught R1433 (now a HOT LOT), Hep B by SKB Lot Number 3198A2 (now a HOT LOT and the same lot that was administered on 5/9/00) and the last was HIB by Lederle Lot Number 468487 (now a HOT LOT) Robbie had a chronic subdural hematoma that the radiologists at the hospital determined to be at least a month old. They also felt it could be the result of birth trauma.
There was no MRI performed because Dr. D felt "there wasn't a need to spend $1,000 to confirm what I already knew." Dr. D is not a radiologist or a neurologist. This was also after the radiologists told her of their findings.Robbie had developed severe untreated diabetes.
Robbie was diagnosed with sinus-ethmoids disease. It had been reported by family members that Robbie seemed to always have the snuffles. · Robbie had a tracking problem as noted in his chart by his pediatrician in relation to his eyes. There was also evidence of glaucoma found. Robbie suffered no bruising in his neck area. This would be present had he been shaken as they claimed. There was not a single mark on his body to even suggest that Robbie had been shaken. There were no bruises or red marks. It has been discovered that Robbie's mother threw Robbie onto a bed during an argument with his father. The police had also been to the residence numerous times for domestic problems. Yet, no one investigated or charged anyone else. Robbie's thalamus was the size of a 12 year old. The thalamus is supposed to get smaller as we age. It organizes sensory messages to and from the higher levels of the brain. In addition, Robbie's immune system was virtually non-existent. No doubt, his exposure to "hot lots" did not help.

The State's theory was this: I was feeding Robbie and he spit up on a new shirt. I then became enraged at him and shook him. After realizing what happened, I allegedly conjured up a story and called 911.
Well, their theory would be completely wrong. Even their own witnesses put holes in it. First, they knew from Robbie's own mother that she fed him and she burped him while I was outside. Second, both Robbie's mother and members of the rescue squad testified at no time was I wearing a shirt. The rescue personnel even said he handed me a shirt before leaving for the hospital. I later was told the reason I was charged is that I was the last person to be with Robbie. Even though there was never any evidence of me being abusive towards him or any other child. Robbie's mother even said I was very loving and caring to Robbie yet here, I am in prison. It made no difference that 911 were called less than 10 minutes after his mom left. The doctors failed to thoroughly look at him and his medical history. No other tests were done to rule out anything but "SBS." I did not do what I was accused of and am still fighting for vindication. I loved my "little buddy" Robbie. He was not my son !
but I cared for him as if he were.
In closing, I know that God and Robbie knew I did nothing wrong. Robbie got sick and stopped breathing and I helped him. Because of that, I am in prison. I miss him, as I am sure many people do. I am paying for a mistake made by a bunch of overzealous and negligent doctors. They should have treated him instead of "waiting it out." If there is any negligence, it is on those who were in charge of his treatment here are many thanks to many people. My mom and dad, who have been there from the beginning and still, support my innocence. Dr. P, who believes in my innocence and proved it during my trial. He has been a vital part of this case. Dr. U, I cannot put into words the gratitude for all he has done. You too have believed in me. DR. VS. words are not enough to thank you for what you have done for others and me. Dr. A-B, a man who has taken on a large task and has uncovered things that promises to blow this wide open. Dr. B, your work has helped open up the eyes that once were!
 shut. The Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System (VAERS). Without it, people would have no idea how widespread the vaccine "hot lot" epidemic really is.
I have a responsibility to prescribe a regimen of treatment for the good of patient according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone." - Taken from the Oath of Hippocrates

Lois

Analysis of Causes That Led to Baby Robert Benjamin Quirello’s Respiratory Arrest and Death in August of 2000

 


Attached with her email:

By Lois Herlihy

There is nothing as painful as a mother going through the same thing as her child. It does not matter how old that child maybe. Brian is our only son and what he feels we feel. When they are accused and convicted of a crime they did not commit, the Mom goes to prison as well. Since August 2, 2000, we have been living this nightmare. We spent $165,000 on this case and he was convicted of "culpable negligence manslaughter" Currently, his case is in " first level of appeal based on trial errors" We had no choice but to use a Florida 1st district court of appeals public defender to prepare this case since we are broke. I am afraid about using a P.D. I contacted every local attorney here in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami area. Including Roy Black, Janet Reno, Wrongfully convicted and project innocence at both Nova Southeastern and the University of Miami but to no avail. I contacted all the Jesuit Law schools requesting help again no luck and I even contacted our catholic church for assistance. This has taken a toll on our family physically, emotionally, medically and financially and I really see no end in sight.

My husband and I never met Robbie, did not even know about him until the night we received that awful call. I sat though a trial that I feel would have resulted in a 1st degree murder conviction and life in prison if it had not been for John Plunkett M.D. and Ronald Uscinski M.D. After the trial we received the letter from Dr. Uscinski expressing his grief on what happened and his "Expert medical opinion" that he would have never testified on the case if he felt that Brian was guilty. This softens ones heart to know there are people who really want justice not "conviction stats " Will we ever be the same NO, what will become of our case due to lack of funds, I do not know. All I know is with the review of Dr. Ali-Bayati’s report we now know for sure what happened. But until someone steps in and holds the DA’s and the states responsible innocent people will suffer and babies will continue to die. Malpractice played a big part in what happened to Baby Robbie and cover up by the attendings made it worse. Sloppy medical work, and incompetence on the part of the medical examiner led to this conviction. Brian continues to suffer in a prison nine (9) hours away from us and I am in prison as well. My life stopped August 2, 2000 and contrary to what people may say. When you are a mother the umbilical cord is never cut it just continues to stretch.

Thank-you for listening

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I had been a child care provider for several years and never once imagined that anything would ever go wrong but this is my story of the day my life and the lives  of those I love changed forever.

It was December 15,2000 a normal babysitting day for me until approximately 3:30 that afternoon. It was then I was catapulted into the world of false allegations of Shaken Baby Syndrome.

I was caring for a 4-month old little boy for 9 days and on the10th day he had  been to the doctor's office that morning for a " Well Baby " check and routine immunizations which consisted of the DTaP,Hibiter,Hepatitis B,Prevnar and Polio. He was dropped off by his mother at roughly 10:00 a.m. that morning. I was told by the mother there was infant tylenol in the diaper bag if he needed it.

I had changed his diaper and fed him and placed him in the infant seat and he was pretty content. At approximately 1:00 p.m. he fell asleep and I placed him in the playpen in my daughter's room. The other children kept running through the hallway  and continued to be loud and woke him up .I then moved him to my bedroom on a crib mattress on the floor so the other children would not wake him because my daughter's room only had a half door where my room had a full door and it would be quieter for  him. I checked on him every 15 to 20 minutes to make sure he was okay and did not  have any fever.

It was approximately 3:30 when I went to check on him and found him unresponsive and barely breathing. It was then I picked him up and took him to my husband's  desk where I then called 911.

The paramedics showed up and asked where he was at .She then scooped him up  and ran him to the waiting ambulance. Within a few minutes there was a knock at  the door and it was the police. The detective asked if he could talk to me for a few minutes about the condition of the child that day and the 911 call. I said  sure.I told him the child had been to the pediatrician that morning and given  routine immunizations as well as the age of the child and any other information  I could provide him with. Within a few minutes they were gone and I did not hear
from them on whether or not they would be back in touch with me or not.

It was roughly 9:50 p.m and my husband and I were getting ready for bed when there was a knock at the door. It was the detective with two other gentlemen and they asked if they could talk to us. I allowed them to come in and the detective asked me if I could come down to the station and give them a statement in writing.  I asked him if I could come down first thing in the morning since I was ready for bed and my kids were sleeping.He said we would like to do it now that it would only take about an hour.

My husband was making a call to get someone to stay with the kids so he could go with me and the detective said it is ok you can stay here we will take your wife  and bring her back this way you do not have to bother anyone. I voluntarily went to the station to give them a statement because I had nothing to hide and felt if I did  not cooperate with them they would think I had something to hide.

When I arrived at the station I was taken into a room and that is when I was asked   the events of the day and what led up to me calling 911. At the conclusion of that   statement and after I signed it I was getting ready to go back home and I asked   the detective if he knew the status of the child because I had not heard anything from the parents on how he was doing because I was concerned about him.

The detective called Children's Hospital to find out how he was and returned by telling me he was no longer in any danger of dying but did have a subdural and  subarachnoid hematomas and retinal hemorrhaging. They also said he had a  possible bilateral femur fractures which it turned out that he did not have any  fractures.I was relieved to hear he was going to be okay but little did I know the
worse was yet to come.

The juvenile detective and the other two men present who were the county  homicide detectives then began to ask me more questions. During this time there was no documentation of the conversation and the questions they were  asking were no longer voluntary but accusatory statements wanting to know  what I did to him that a child does not just sustain these injuries from nothing at all.They even asked how I changed a diaper too. I was asked the same things over and over and kept telling them I did nothing to him. By then I did  not even know what time it was and just wanted to go home .I was given a  paper to sign before I left  and then was taken home. It turns out that the
paper I signed was a second statement. I was not even aware of until I got it from my attorney.When I got home my husband asked what was going  on and what they had done to me . It was after 1:30 in the morning and he said I was very emotional.

On the morning of December 16,2000 I went to the hospital early in the  morning due to the chest pains. I was having like anxiety or panic attacks. I spent several hours there before I came home with my husband under his care and was told if I got worse he was to bring me back to the hospital.
We got home from the hospital and decided to lay down and take a nap  because the kids were sleeping.It was around 4:00 p.m.when there was  a knock at the door.When we went and answered the door there were  five officers here and they told my husband sorry we have to arrest your wife.

The one county detective followed me into my bedroom when I went into  get changed and get sneakers on. I then took my clothes to the bathroom  because I was not changing in front of him. He stood out of the bathroom  door asking me if I was ok.He even had the nerve to ask my husband why didn't you tell us your wife was like this? My husband replied to him I think you made a mistake here my wife is good with kids and she would not do something like this.

I never was even read my rights nor did I see an arrest warrant although they said that they  had requested one be issued in the police criminal
complaint. 

I was taken to the station and finger printed and photographed then taken to the judge and arraigned. Bail was set at $5,000. Once at the prison I  was denied access due to lack of medical clearance.I was to be taken back to the hospital for an evaluation however the police took me back to the station and placed me in a holding cell and I was later transferred  to a Inpatient facility for a psychiatric evaluation where I had to stay for 5 days beforeI could be released under the condition of the bail.

Upon my release I began to research this so called "Shaken Baby  Syndrome" and found out that many times over these adverse reactions
to the vaccines were being misdiagnosed as Shaken Baby Syndrome and that SBS is only a theory and never proven to be a truly understood
entity. By reading and researching these medical journals it was clear  that the experts in the field could not even agree on what SBS actually is!

Even more shocking was that I discovered many Adverse Reactions to  these vaccinations were able to mimic what is thought to be SBS. Upon further researching the vaccines I was shocked to see that Tens of Thousands of Children are damaged and even killed by vaccines.
 I had always thought  vaccines were safe.


I found that the ingredients in vaccines were nothing more than a witches brew of animal blood, toxic metals,neurotoxins, viruses, bacteria, and
even pesticides ! Yes Pesticides! Thimerosal is acommon ingredient in  many vaccines is a registered pesticide with the (EPA) Environmental
Protection Agency. Thimerosal is nearly 50% mercury as well and that  a routine "Well-Baby-Visit" can see a child get injected with up to 62.5 mcgs of Mercury ! The EPA guidelines for acceptable Mercury exposure are 0.1  mcgs. of mercury per kilogram of body weight per day. The child  in my  case was given over 40 times the "safe" amount in a matter of minutes- directly into his bloodstream and shortly before he was dropped off at  my home.

As well this child had an indication of a possible neurological condition as his head size was abnormally large. The Physicians Desk Reference
clearly states " that any child with an underlying neurological condition   SHOULD NOT BE VACCINATED."

Vaccines carry serious and sometimes fatal consequences and people  need to know this so they can truly make an informed choice.They also
need to know what to do to avoid legal pitfalls in choosing what gets put into their bodies or their children's body .

I was left no choice but to take a plea agreement of "No Contest" to 2 years probation as I could have faced up to 15 years in prison in the aforementioned case. I chose not to risk what a jury would decide as most people ( like myself at one time )believed vaccines were safe. I chose to secure that my children would  grow up with their mother. I have picked up the pieces and moved on but this will always be with me no matter what. I continue to maintain my innocence and plan  to make a difference by raising awareness and helping others in similar straits.
The system needs help and parents / caretakers need to be informed. In my case I believe this child was damaged by vaccines, and so did some doctors. We also found out after the fact that he did indeed have an underlying problem that  pre-dated my contact with him. If you would like to know more about my case you can contact me at the following e-mail address: debbiehaven@msn.com

 Sincerely,

Debbie Grater

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